Offshore mariculture industry looks to high seas opportunities
Delegates at OSM 2012
Statement requesting United Nations’ FAO conduct an assessment of the access and operational frameworks for open ocean mariculture in the High Seas adopted at OSM 2012.
The offshore aquaculture industry has requested that United Nations’ FAO conduct an assessment of the access and operational frameworks for open ocean mariculture in the High Seas, and make recommendations as to how to better encourage work towards mariculture in waters beyond any one nation’s EEZs. A Statement to this effect was drafted at The Offshore Mariculture Conference, held in Izmir, Turkey, over three days from 17-19 October 2012 and the Turkish government offered to formally convey the request to FAO.
The Statement adopted at the conclusion of the Conference drew from a number of preceding declarations – including the 2010 Global Conference on Aquaculture, the Phuket Consensus of 2010, and the Colombo Declaration of 2011, all of which have emphasized the critical role for aquaculture in feeding the world, stimulating economic development, providing employment and reducing existing negative impacts on the marine environment. Most recently, the Bremerhaven Declaration of 2012 spoke specifically of the need for increased research, development, investment and policy frameworks for open ocean aquaculture.
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